Frozen Heart
by Cosmic Cannon
Summary: Cooler has spent his entire life in the shadow of his younger brother, driving an enormous wedge of sibling rivalry between the two. When word reaches him that Frieza is on a quest for immortality, he is forced into action. Gathering his Armored Squadron, he makes an impromptu trip to Planet Namek to put an end to their rivalry, once and for all.
1. My Reality: Cooler's Inner-Truth

_"For so many years, you were thought of as my superior. For so many years, you were placed on a pedestal while I was forced to observe like a common peasant. For so many years, you were praised for being the strongest while I was just praised for my family name. For so many years, I've been forced to live in your shadow, but no more! I have achieved something that you will never achieve. I have ascended beyond a level that-for so long-we believed was our natural limit. For you see, I have become…"_

"Cooler!"

Cooler shifted his scarlet eyes back up to the holo-screen that displayed a clearly annoyed Frieza, his eyes being a reflection of Cooler's with a hint of intimidation coming from the demon-resembling appearance of his first form. It was clear that whatever business that Frieza had halted their previous conversation for was complete and he was ready to revive their discussion.

Leaning back into his hover chair, Cooler said, "I see that you are back."

"Yes, I am, and it appears that you have returned from whatever vacation that your brain had been on as well," replied the younger Arcosian.

_**If only you had an idea of the kind of vacation that my thoughts had taken, then you wouldn't be so quick to speak with that insolent tongue, you infuriating brat.**_ "How is the search for your little primate pet going?" Cooler laced his fingers in front of his face as a devious smile slowly graced his features.

This was the epicenter of his and Frieza's conversations, harmless jesting between the two. It wasn't just important to prove their physical strength, but their quick-witted mental abilities as well.

Seeing the subtle souring of Frieza's face proved to Cooler that he had struck a nerve.

"It's going superbly, as a matter of fact; I just sent Zarbon to retrieve Vegeta's incapacitated body," replied Frieza with a smug smile as he tried to cover the tracks of his troubled mission. "Apparently, Zarbon had transformed and got a little carried away when he fought Vegeta earlier. Not to mention that the Ginyu Force should be landing shortly; so, in all, things are going swimmingly."

"Zarbon had to transform? Has Vegeta gotten that strong? And you've called in the Ginyu Force? Dear brother, I must say, it sounds like everything is far from superb on Namek," stated Cooler with a subtle chuckle as he reached for his glass of wine on a nearby stand.

As he tipped his glass back to savor the intoxicating liquid, Frieza blurted, "Everything is going fine!"

Cooler had to be careful not to choke on his wine from the fit of laughter he was tempted to engage. Sitting his wine back on its stand and raising his other hand to wipe away a trail of wine that escaped his mouth from Frieza's outburst, Cooler calmly stated, "I am only looking out for your wellbeing, Frieza. Surely you can't be upset with me?" Cooler watched as the throbbing vein- which had popped out of Frieza's right temple-slowly receded and thought, _**Yes, that's right, Frieza. I win yet another round.**_

Changing the subject, Frieza said, "Where are you heading to anyway, brother? Last I checked, there weren't any major missions that desired a royal to be in person, let alone you and your entire squadron." Finishing his statement, Frieza glanced over the shadowy and dim-lighted captain's quarters that Cooler and his squadron inhabited; Neiz and Doore were working controls in the front and Cooler sat in the center with Salza at a computer that was a few meters to Cooler's right.

"We're handling some…business," replied Cooler.

"…Business" skeptically restated Frieza.

"Yes; business," said Cooler, maintaining his expressionless disposition.

"Would you care to elaborate?" Frieza said, tilting his head towards the screen in expectation of Cooler's explanation.

"…No."

Cooler and Frieza maintained an awkward, yet unmoving, stare down for nearly a minute, Frieza waiting for Cooler to explain something and Cooler inwardly enjoying Frieza's perplexity.

Finally giving in, Frieza released an audible sigh and said, "Fine; don't tell me what you're up to. I could care less." Frieza turned away from the screen and had begun to float down to floor, but then he stopped and looking over his shoulder, said, "It's not like you've found a means to eternal life…like I have." With a menacing fit of laughter, Frieza floated out of the view of the screen and within a couple of seconds, the transmission was ended.

With the only illumination in the room shut off, the lights came to life. Neiz lifted from his seat with four scouters in his hand, beginning to hand them out to Salza and Dore. "These are the new series of scouters that I snatched before hopping aboard. They're supposed to be able to record up to a one million power level," he said.

Slipping the scouter onto his head, Dore said, "Why would they bother creating scouters that read that high? The only people with power levels over one million are Lord Frieza, King Cold, and Lord Cooler."

Cooler had unconsciously tensed at the mention of his father's name. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if King Cold figured out what he was planning. Just that brief mention of his father's name was beginning to drive him into a fit of paranoia; as if, by some means, that was a sign that King Cold would eventually find out. Cooler had done his best to cover his tracks before leaving his home planet, Arcos, though. There was no way that Cold would find out, right; he could never find out why Cooler was heading to Planet Namek.

"Um…Lord Cooler," Neiz awkwardly said as he held the scouter to the side of Cooler's unmoving frame.

Cooler lazily looked over to Neiz, who was beginning to grow nervous under his commander's glare. Cooler glanced down at the scouter and dismissed it with a wave of his hand as he said, "I do not need that."

His words drew a look of surprise out of Neiz and Dore. Salza answered to their shock by saying, "Lord Cooler has evolved beyond zi need of such primitive devices. He has learned zi art of sensing energy; an ability zhat has eluded many of us."

An arrogant smile drew across Cooler's lips at the words of Salza. Out of his three loyal minions, Salza was by far his favorite. It wasn't just because Salza was good at bootlicking, but he was a much more skilled fighter than the rest. However, the doting was always a positive trait in Cooler's eyes.

Through his peripheral vision, Cooler saw Neiz withdraw the scouter and head back to his seat. "How much longer until we land?" he asked.

Neiz took a quick second to look at the computer's monitor before replying, "We should be landing in approximately four hours."

"Lord Cooler, may I ask what is our mission?" asked Dore.

Cooler took a moment to ponder if he wanted to disclose this furtive and potentially damaging information to his crew. He was engaging in an act that would not only shun him from further proceedings in the Cold Empire, but also place him in the rage-filled path of one of the most terrifying powers in the galaxy, his father.

Cooler didn't like admitting that anyone was stronger than him, but when it came to his father, there was no denying it. Cold's second form was relatively the same power level as Cooler's basic fourth form. At his third transformation, Cold's power exceeded Cooler's fully powered fourth form. And Cooler didn't even want to think about the power of his father's fourth form. At that level, Cold could crush both of his sons with minor difficulty. This was a power that brought about an unwelcomed fear inside of Cooler, an emotion that was so foreign to the tyrant that it rattled him with each of its passing.

Nevertheless, he trusted his team. He also trusted that his team feared him beyond any other person, even his brother and father. With that in mind, he said, "As you all just heard, Frieza is planning to achieve something that every mighty ruler wishes to achieve-immortality. I cannot allow this to come to fruition.

Anyone that would take the time to study our interactions with one another would assume that Frieza and I have an extensive sibling rivalry between us. This is, however, an immense misinterpretation. To have a rivalry with Frieza would mean that we engaged in some form of competition to prove that one of us is better than the other. I am in need of no form of competition to know that I am superior to Frieza.

Unless one had the ability to read minds, then they could never truly understand the feelings that I hold for my brother. Hate isn't even a strong enough word for my resentment of Frieza; I loathe him with every fiber of my being and want nothing more than to watch that impudent cur die. The only thing that could make me happier would be for his death to come from my own hands, which is why we are going to Namek.

You see, I have been plotting against my brother for quite some time, but father would never allow anything foul to become of his pretty little princess. Any danger that would be brought to Frieza would be dealt with by my father, even if that danger was me; this had lead to trying to formulate a plan that would not leave a hint of my involvment. As I'm sure you can imagine, trying to plot the downfall of Frieza while making sure that father wouldn't come to the knowledge of my betrayal was excruciatingly difficult. No scenario would play out without father being able to suspect me, that is, until now.

Frieza has left himself wide open for my strike by running out to this planet in the middle of the Space Boondocks. Not only will I take Frieza's wish for immortality, but I will take his life as well! And who will be blamed for the death of father's dearest Frieza? None other than the Prince of the primates, Vegeta! And where will I be when Vegeta is executed for crimes against the PTO and the royal family? I will be watching gleefully beside my father as the new crowned lord of the galaxy!"

After giving his speech, Cooler took a moment to survey the expressions of each of his operatives. If he caught even the slightest hint of reservation, he was going to plant a death beam directly through the potential traitor's eyes. To his surprise and essential glee, there was no reservation in the eyes of his Armored Squadron. In fact, Cooler was sure that he could see a twinkle in their eyes as smiles began to spread across each of their faces.

"Zi right hand man of zi lord of zi galaxy, zhat sounds exzeptional!" commented Salza.

"HAHAHA!" bellowed Dore. "We'll finally get the type of respect that those Ginyu freaks get!"

"Oh, yeah baby! Then, we'll be the head hens of the PTO and it'll all be thanks to Lord Cooler!" shouted Neiz.

Cooler emitted a soft chuckle at the elation of his squadron. He couldn't believe that he doubted their loyalty to him, even for a minute. This was his crew and this was his mission. And soon, immortality, along with Frieza's head, would be his as well.

Leaning back into his hover-chair, Cooler grabbed his wine from the nearby table and toasted his squad. Though they were without glasses, the Armored Squadron raised their fists in salute. "To the fall of Lord Frieza, gentlemen," said Cooler before bringing the glass to his lips.

As Cooler took in the rest of his wine, his crew responded, "The Fall of Lord Frieza!"

* * *

**And that concludes the first installment of "Frozen Heart." I hope you enjoyed the read and decide to follow Cooler on his journey to exterminate his brother. Feel free to leave a review, even if its just a simple "Good Story" or "I hate it. You suck." All reviews are welcomed. As much as I'd like to write this story, I won't waste time writing it if people aren't interested.**

**Just some quick things that I want to cover:**

**First being, I have to send out a word of thanks and praise to Super Vegetarott for reviewing the platform for this story and providing some advice before I published it. If you haven't started reading Sins of the Father, do so now. And I do mean now. You won't regret it. Also, he was the one that came up with the title. (So if you think that it sucks, tell him) JK! I love the title and if you don't, that's your problem. After all, Haven't you ever heard, "Don't judge a book by its cover?" Yeah, I thought so. Anyways, thanks for the help Rott!**

**Secondly, at this point in time, this story will not be under a structured updating schedule. I am still in the middle of finishing my current story, "The Misadventures of Cell & Frieza," and unlike some writers (Rott) I won't stop writing a story that readers are invested in just to focus on another story, just because it may be more popular. I have readers that want to see the end of my first story and, for the moment, they come first. With that being said, this story may or may not be updated for at least two weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I am a full-time student and part-time employee of two jobs, so you will just have to forgive me. If you hit the follow button, you'll get updates of when I post a new chapter ;)**

**Finally, you may have noticed the ending words of the Armored Squadron. This story is somewhat inspired by Mr. Arkham's "The Fall of Lord Frieza." I would give away more, but that would be giving away pieces of my story. And we can't have that ;)**

**So, I think that is it. I hope you enjoyed my story and continue to read it. And as I always end the chapters of my stories...**

**Later Taters!**


	2. Welcome to Namek: Cooler has Arrived!

"And there, and there, and there, and there," said the Zaltian as his eyes scanned the grounds around Frieza's spaceship.

"Neiz, what are you doing?" question Salza as he stepped away from Cooler and Dore, who were observing the tattered grounds around Frieza's spaceship.

"I'm just checking out the remains of Appule. Look, here's a piece of his head," said Neiz as he picked up a purple chunk of what used to be Appule's skull.

Salza had to cover his mouth and impose as much self-control that he could muster to refrain from puking at the sight of the body part. Unfortunately, he couldn't retain his composure when Neiz applied a small amount of pressure and blood began dripping from the remains.

While Salza ran off to vomit, Cooler said, "Neiz, put that down! We came here for a mission not to goof off."

Neiz immediately dropped the bloody body part and saluted Cooler with a bloodied glove before running over to stand next to his commander. Coming to a stop, he said, "Lord Cooler, you have to admit that it does look a little forlorn and pitiful around here. You don't think that Lord Frieza could've done all of this, do you? He does have a tendency go on a rampage when he's angry."

Cooler looked around for a moment before responding, "No; this isn't my brother's handiwork. He either plants a death beam through a vital organ or completely disintegrates an incompetent soldier. This is a little too gruesome for him. Besides, I don't believe that he would do that." Cooler gestured to the large hole in the side of Frieza's spaceship as he said the last part.

"It must've been Vegeta then," said Dore, slamming his fist into his glove out of his assuredness.

"I suppose that is a possibility. Surely he wouldn't have been fool enough to do this while Frieza was in the vicinity, though," replied Cooler. He took a few steps forward as he surveyed the land. He could see a large indention in the ground nearby, as if someone had been slammed into it by some manner. And atop Frieza's ship, there was another indention. There was at least a minor battle out here at some point; that much Cooler was sure of. "I don't know what has happened here, but it is clear that Frieza isn't in the immediate area. He would've stepped out to greet us by now if he were." He turned back to his crew and said, "Locate him with your scouters."

Cooler would've liked to do this himself, but the ki sensing ability that he had acquired wasn't practiced enough. At the moment, his sensing ability was similar to the scanners. Whenever a power spiked he could instantly pick up on it, but he had to concentrate to find a flat power source. Still, it was better than relying on the scouter like Frieza. For this ability, he appreciated his Seeker Brigade immensely.

Neiz and Dore instantly tapped their scouters to locate the nearest and highest power levels. Their scouters scanned for a few seconds before they exploded, drawing a sneer of minor pain from the wearers.

"I guess you've found Frieza," said Cooler in a stale tone as he watched them carefully.

"Um…well…uhh…" the two warriors muttered as they thought of how to phrase what they needed to say. They had definitely locked onto a high power level, but there had been three of them. One that neared a million and two that was high above their scouters' reading ability.

"Out with it!" barked Cooler, causing the two soldier to stand erect and tremble slightly.

"There were two of them, Sir!" proclaimed Neiz and Dore, simultaneously.

"Two? There were two power levels that made your scouters short out?"

"Yes, Lord Cooler!" sounded the two again.

_**Two power levels above one million? Surely the scouters were wrong. There couldn't be anyone else on this planet with that kind of power**_, thought Cooler. _**Not even Captain Ginyu is that strong. Wait, Ginyu!**_

"Where is the Ginyu Force?" questioned Cooler as his he jerked his head left to right and back again in search of the Ginyu Force, as if by some means, the galactic squad would be standing behind him.

Before Neiz and Dore could come up with a reply, Salza's voice called out to them. "Sir, I zhink you might want to see zhis," he said from the other side of the ship, where he had been puking.

Cooler, Neiz, and Dore walked over and were shocked at what they saw. Salza was on his hands and knees, bending over the green lake, but this wasn't the surprising thing. Several meters to Salza's right was Captain Ginyu, but he was hopping around on all fours and he was croaking!

"Is that Captain Ginyu?!" proclaimed Neiz, who was standing just behind Dore and Cooler.

The sound of Neiz's shrill voice caught the abnormal-acting Ginyu's attention. The croaking captain began hopping towards the three, specifically in the direction of Dore. The tall, muscular, green fighter began stepping back as the creature neared him, eliciting a laugh from Cooler.

"Don't tell me that the big bad Dore is frightened?" mocked Cooler.

"N-no; I'm not scared. I just don't want this thing touching me," he defended, continuing to step away from the hopping Captain Ginyu.

He eventually found himself trapped at the edge of the lake. The croaking and hopping Ginyu landed directly in front of him, eliciting a subtle shriek from the warrior. Before Ginyu could go any further, Dore caught him under the chin with a small kick. Ginyu was knocked back a minor distance, but he landed back on all fours and immediately lunged at Dore. This made the warrior lug a blast at the creature, disintegrating him in one small explosion. Dore panted heavily from fear as the smoke from the explosion dissipated. He looked over at his comrades, who immediately started laughing at Dore's plight.

"Shut up!" he sounded, only making his team laugh more.

Their laughing came to a halt as Salza's scouter picked up a fast rising power level, the power eventually broke one million and detonated the scouter on Salza's face. In addition to this, they could see a large orb of energy forming in the distance. The energy blast was flung from the air as it hurtled to the surface of the planet, causing a gasp to escape everyone's lips. A blast of that magnitude would easily destroy the planet. To their shock and utter pleasure, the ball of energy was knocked back into the sky and continued out into space.

"What was zhat?!" questioned Salza.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it cracked one million," responded Neiz.

"I don't know what is going on, but it's time to find out," started Cooler. Pointing over in the general direction of the blast, Cooler said, "Neiz! Dore! Go investigate what that was. While you two are over there, I and Salza will look through Frieza's spaceship."

"Can we kill anything, Lord Cooler?" said Neiz, a wicked smile growing as he thought about getting to cause physical harm.

Cooler knew how Neiz was when it came to killing. The Zaltian was almost as entertained by killing as Frieza and himself. "Fine," Cooler sighed. "Kill anything that isn't Frieza or that doesn't look important. Now go!"

With a quick salute, the two soldiers flew off. While they flew away, Cooler and Salza lifted into the sky to enter Frieza's ship from the roof entrance. Before descending into the hole, Cooler cast one final glance in the direction of where Neiz and Dore were headed. Though he had to concentrate a fair amount, he could detect two high power levels, one that was relatively minor in comparison to him, but another that was extremely high. He was certain that the latter power level was Frieza. A smile came upon the face of the purple-skinned Arcosian as he thought; _**it'd be a real shame if you left those precious dragon balls unattended in this spaceship, Frieza. Well, a shame for you maybe.**_

He and Salza landed in a body-littered corridor. The sight was not something that deterred Cooler, though. He continued right down the hallway, hoping to the greatest of gods that Frieza was careless enough to leave the dragon balls out in the open. While the two were chatting hours ago, Frieza decided to be gracious enough to show one of the balls to Cooler. Frieza was always a show-off; this time his showmanship was going to get the best of him. As Cooler continued down the corridor his already implanted smile grew wider at the prospect of Frieza practically handing the dragon balls over. He rounded a long, curvy hallway before coming to a door. Thankfully, Frieza's ship was designed closely to Cooler's, so the older Arcosian had no problem finding the Captain's Quarters.

Cooler stood before the door for a moment, soaking in the prospect of finding the greatest of treasures beyond the barrier. He brought his palm to touch the face of the door, gliding over it smoothly as his continued smile grew wicked from his intentions. He brought his palm to the center of the door and emitted a small kiai that blew the blockade clear off of its frame.

Cooler stepped into the quarters smiling broadly, but upon scanning its interior, his smile faltered. There were no dragon balls in the room. The room contained nothing, but the ship's rudimentary design and a large hole in the dome-like window. Cooler's fists tightened by his side as he sounded a barely audible growl of frustration. Could he have been too late? Could Frieza have gotten immortality? If so, Cooler was sure that his life would get more difficult. He could already picture it: "Hail Frieza Forever" signs spread all throughout the headquarters and planet. Playing the role of the kind and loving brother was something that Cooler refused to continue doing for the rest of his life.

"I don't zhink zhat zhe dragon balls are here, sir," said Salza from just inside of the door frame.

"Of course they're not here! Don't you think that I can see that!" barked the enraged tyrant. This startled the Brench and forced him to step back into the door frame, fearing that Cooler may decide to take his frustration out on him.

Cooler saw the expression on his commanding soldier and quickly retrieved his control. While he had no problem killing an incompetent soldier, he had made a decision long ago that he wouldn't treat them as disposable as Frieza. He'd even go so far as to assist his squad when they encountered a powerful foe, something that he knew Frieza would never do for his Ginyu Force. In Cooler's mind, this established a greater loyalty than what Frieza had between his men.

Despite not wanting to rule as brutally as Frieza, Cooler wouldn't dare apologize for being harsh. After regaining his composure, he said, "Let's go. Maybe Frieza can enlighten me on the whereabouts of the dragon balls."

Cooler stepped past Salza and re-entered the body-ridden hallway as he stepped back to the roof opening. However, Salza's next question made him stop dead in his tracks.

"What if Lord Frieza has already gotten his wish?" questioned the Brenchian commander.

Cooler remained facing away from Salza as his gaze fell to the bloodied floor. As much as Cooler didn't want to admit it, the prospect of Frieza getting his wish was definitely plausible. Going out there to face Frieza now was almost suicide if that was the case. If Frieza is immortal, then there is no way that Cooler can kill him and Frieza will tell their father of Cooler's treachery. Cooler refused to let his thoughts continue beyond the point where his father found out. There was no need in envisioning his death.

"As of right now, Salza, that is an idea that I choose not to entertain," responded Cooler. "I don't know what I will do if Frieza has been granted immortality. We will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

Salza paled slightly at the monotony of his leader's voice. It didn't have the assuredness that usually flowed through it. Cooler without confidence wasn't a thought that Salza wanted to dwell on. All he could reply is, "Yes, sir."

Just as the two began their trek to the roof entrance, the sound of running equipment caught their ears. Cooler was sure that he hadn't heard anything earlier, yet he was willing to admit that his head was so inflated on the idea of finding the dragon balls that he would've ignored Frieza's very presence on the ship.

The two aliens followed the sound of the humming to a room. Upon inspection of the room, they found that it held one solitary rejuvenation tank, a tank with someone inside. Salza stepped right up to the rejuvenation tank while Cooler checked the room for any hidden inhabitants.

The Brench placed one foot on the step of the tank while he rested his chin on his tightened fist, using his knee as a prop for his elbow. He looked directly into the tank, watching as the small current of the tank's waters made Goku's hair dance slightly. "Who are you, monsieur?" he asked. Goku looked directly at the cyan-skinned alien; a wicked smirk beginning to spread across the latter's face. "You wouldn't happen to be zi one zhat did all of zhis to Lord Frieza's spaceship, would you?"

After concluding that there was no one hiding, Cooler stepped back over to Salza. He took one long glance at the recovering being in the tank, unaware that he was a Saiyan; Goku equally stared into the Arcosian's cold eyes. A few seconds passed before the tyrant sneered at Goku and turned back to his general. "Let's go, Salza," he said as he began walking to the door.

Salza broke his intense observation of Goku at the words of his commander. Turning his head back, he said, "I understand zhat we're not exactly here for a friendly call with Lord Frieza, but what harm would it be to eliminate one of his antagonizers? It's clear zhat zhis guy isn't a part of Frieza's army; he isn't wearing any of zi armor." He turned back to Goku, resting his chin back on his fist, and continued to say, "He does look like a strong one, zhough. Maybe he was one of zhose zhings zhat Frieza told us attacked Dodoria earlier." The Brench lifted the hand that he wasn't using as a prop and placed it against the glass of the tank's window, a glimmer of light beginning to grow in the palm. A wicked smile grew upon the general's face as he said, "He'll just be one last pest to be worried with." The energy grew larger in Salza's palm, forming a small bubble against the window. The Brench and Saiyan maintained an intense stare down as they waited for the blast to be released. Goku knew that he'd have to act fast to avoid the blast at such a close range, he just hoped that he could act fast enough.

"Au revoir," the Brench said as the blast began to push against the glass, forming a small spider web of cracks on the frame.

"Salza!" Cooler announced from across the room. The blast immediately puttered out at the commanding tone of Cooler.

The leader of the Armored Squadron whipped his head back to see the disapproving glare of Cooler. The commanding Arcosain stepped over to Salza and said, "I know that you're itching for some entertainment, but killing this insignificant creature won't produce any worthwhile results. Besides, you're attack was much too weak to have killed him." Cooler glanced back into the tank as Goku locked eyes with him, yet again. "Being this close to him, I can sense his power level easily. He's definitely strong, much stronger than that minor blast that you were ready to release. No; to kill this one, you'll need to put in much more time and energy." Cooler finally broke his gaze with Goku and looked back to Salza, a whipped dog expression overcoming the Brench. "You'll need to conserve your energy for whatever is out there with Dore and Neiz. I don't know who it is exactly, but two are relatively strong. There is no need in wasting your energy trying to kill him." Cooler began walking back out of the room with Salza close on his heel. Before stepping out of the room, Cooler looked back at Goku and locked eyes for the final time. "It's not like he is even a minor threat to me, anyway."

Cooler and Salza stepped out of the room, hoping, that once they joined Neiz and Dore, an immortal Frieza wouldn't be waiting for them.

* * *

"Hahg!" spat Vegeta, a stream of blood and sputum leaping into the face of his accoster. Who was this person? It was none other than Frieza. The maniacal overlord had Vegeta by the strap of his armor and was poised to deliver the final blow to the Saiyan Prince. Frieza had once looked upon Vegeta with a small amount of kindness. Of course, kindness in the eyes of Frieza was allowing one to live while still offering ego-diffusing insults on a daily basis, but it was still better than being in the situation that Vegeta was in now. His once pleasing Saiyan pet had done the unthinkable; he defied Frieza's commands and turned traitor. If that wasn't enough insurrection, the arrogant Saiyan had the audacity to challenge Frieza to a fight, something that no one had ever done and lived to tell the tale. Alas, this was the foretold end for Vegeta's pain-stricken life, Frieza leaning over him with a hand poised to pierce his body.

"It's a shame that things have to end this way, Vegeta, but look at the bright side. You'll finally be able to rule as the Prince of the Saiyans," Frieza stated from above Vegeta, his cold red eyes practically piercing into Vegeta's soul. He saw a glimmer in the eye of Vegeta. Frieza wasn't sure if it was hope, nor did he care. It was time to put an end to this traitor's life. "You can finally rule those pathetic monkeys in Hell!" Frieza yelled as he sent his spear-shaped hand at Vegeta's heart. Before Frieza could impale the Saiyan Prince, the sound of a fight caught his attention. He looked up to see the Namek, the half-breed Saiyan, and the bald guy fighting two people, two people that Frieza was beyond shocked to find there.

While Frieza had been readying himself to end Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin stood atop a small ridge as they helplessly watched. Vegeta was by no means a friend of theirs, but watching him get shredded by Frieza was something excruciatingly painful to watch. Despite the horror of it all, they stood by like sheep awaiting for the farmer to finish slaughtering one just so that he could move on to the next one. While standing there, Piccolo in between the two shorter warriors, they were so entranced by what was happening that their minds were left blank to any other aspects. This left them wide open for attack.

The large, brutish Dore flew in and delivered a massive knee to the lumbar region of Piccolo's vertebrae, knocking the Namekian senseless both from surprise and the power of the attack. With Piccolo's back slightly arched toward him, Dore raised his clasped hand over his head and slammed them on the side of the Namek's face, sending the warrior piercing down into the ridge below them.

"Oh, no; Mister Piccolo!" announced Gohan as he leapt into the air to place distance between him and the brute. As he focused on the slowly collapsing ridge and the brute standing atop it, Gohan barely caught the glimpse of Neiz from his peripheral vision. Thankfully, he did and leaned back just as Neiz's gloved fist passed where the young Saiyan's head had once been.

The amount of force that Neiz put behind the punch forced the Zaltian to lean into the dodged attack, but he quickly reacted before Gohan could capitalize on the dodge. Swinging his other arm around, Neiz smashed the back of his hand into the temporal area of Gohan's skull, sending the young Saiyan back a great distance. Turning his body to face the disoriented child, the Zaltian lazily raised a hand above his head, igniting it in a purple, electrically-charged aura. Charging his attack in his hand, Neiz licked his lips and said, "Never tried deep-fried twerp. I guess there's a first for everything."

Krillin, who had been affrightedly entranced by the hulking behemoth of a man before him, casted a glance into the air to see Gohan get swatted away by Neiz. He was thankful that Dore had yet to turn and face him, but his best friend's son wasn't so lucky. As he saw the charge of energy form in the hand of the orange-skinned alien, he knew he had to act. The monk leapt into the air just as Dore turned to challenge him. Flying into the fight without a plan, Krillin caught Neiz by the elbow just as the Zaltian was ready to fling the attack.

His energy dying out, Neiz thrashed his arm around in an attempt to release the adhered Krillin. "Let go of me, you freaky little bald thing," Neiz announced as Krillin fluttered back and forth on his arm. Tired of playing games, Neiz used his lanky frame to thrust his foot back and smack Krillin in the abdomen.

The force of the blow was enough to dislodge the Earthling and send him back a few meters before catching himself. Holding his stomach in pain, Krillin readied to attack, but before he could go anywhere, Dore leapt into the air and placed a firm grasp on both of his ankles. The forest green brute used his grip to pull Krillin out of the air and aimed to slam the Earthling face first into the rock remains of the ridge.

Unable to release the grip, Krillin closed his eyes in preparation of what he expected to be extreme pain. Just before Krillin connected with the ragged soil, Piccolo burst from his rocky tomb and placed a halting palm against Krillin's chest. Surprised by the turn of events, Dore was unable to move as he watched Piccolo fling a fist directly into his jaw. The force of the blow knocked Dore high into the sky.

Stopping himself, the brute grabbed his cheek and flinched from the throbbing pain. Enraged, he yelled to Neiz, "Let's end these weaklings!"

Not being one to decline a proposition for killing, Neiz happily accepted. Dore placed both palms forward while Neiz opted for one palm as energy grew in preparation of both of their attacks.

Just as the two readied to fire off their respective attacks, Gohan entered back into the fight by sending a Masenko into the back of Neiz, causing the Zaltian to shriek in pain. Dore broke his observation of Piccolo to watch Neiz's plight, providing the Namek with an opportune moment.

Using his stretchable arms, Piccolo sent one long green arm at Dore, catching the brute's entire face in a tight grip. Piccolo then retracted said arm as he brought Dore in for an attack. When he was in range, the Namekian delivered a strong side kick into Dore's stomach, halting his progression. Piccolo then attempted to knock Dore away with a powerful left hook, but green flesh met with Dore's white glove as the Beppa-seijin caught Piccolo's fist in a tight hold. The two fierce green warriors growled at one another for a moment before leaping into the air as they began releasing a flurry of punches and kicks upon their opponent.

As for Neiz, after feeling the sneak attack, he turned to find a determined Gohan. The pint-sized Saiyan had his dukes up and was ready for battle, a battle that Neiz was happy to provide. Leaping at the half-Saiyan, the two fighters were immediately locked in a close range brawl, with Neiz having the advantage. The Zaltian landed one fierce left hook, smiling as he did so, before preparing to fire off an even stronger right jab. Against his wishes, he was caught off guard by the mighty monk's fist. The soldier was knocked back slightly before lunging into another close range fight with both Gohan and Krillin.

"What is this?" questioned Frieza as he released his grip on Vegeta and stepped forward. He couldn't believe his eyes. He'd know those symbols on the two fighters' armor from anywhere. They were from Cooler's Armored Squadron and if they were on Planet Namek, Cooler had to be as well.

While Frieza stared absentmindedly at the events before him, he paid no heed to what was happening behind him. Vegeta managed to position himself on his knees as he gazed upon the back of his most hated enemy. He watched as the tyrant folded his arms, a condescending position that he'd displayed before Vegeta so many times over the years. A slideshow of such demeaning events played over Vegeta's mind as he gazed upon Frieza and it enraged him to no end. He'd been put through a lot at the hands of Frieza over these past couple of hours, his entire body feeling like a lead weight from the pain, but he was still determined and unwilling to give up the fight. And what's more, Frieza had done the unbelievable; he had left himself wide open for attack. Barring his teeth out of anger and frustration, Vegeta slowly and silently rose to his feet, careful not to agitate Frieza's sensitive hearing. He gathered as much energy as he could muster into his left palm; just enough for what he thought would finish Frieza, but not completely total his life-force. He pulled the arm back like a pitcher ready to throw the fiercest fast ball of his career. Frieza was fast, absurdly so, but Vegeta knew that he'd never be able to dodge at such a close range. He was so confident in this that he had to agitate the gravel just a little by announcing, "Take this, Frieza!" as the blast was flung from his palm.

Frieza's eyes grew big at the declaration that he heard from behind him. He was sure that Vegeta was down for the count. However, those eyes turned to the size of saucers once Frieza looked over his shoulder to see the massive blast coming his way. Frieza was fast, he knew he was fast, but to Chilled's good name, Frieza knew that he wasn't that fast. The blast was practically upon him, time seeming to slow down just long enough for Frieza to freak out. He knew that this was it, that this would be the end of him. Even if the blast didn't completely kill him, Frieza was sure that it'd manage to blow off a limb.

His teeth gritted like a mad man as he saw the blast inch closer. This was going to be one hell of a moment for Frieza to recall one day, that is, if he lived through the event. Frieza's whole body tensed in preparation of the attack, but then it happened. Something shifted; a purple haze seemed to shoot between Frieza and the blast at the last second. And then it happened. Vegeta's massive blast was knocked away, not merely off course, but slapped clean away from the area.

Frieza watched as the blast soared across the horizon until it detonated on a faraway island, a massive mushroom cloud and gust of wind following its contact. Frieza then gazed over at Vegeta, who looked more defeated than he had earlier when Frieza displayed his second form. He watched as the Saiyan Prince fell to his knees, his eyes full of a terrifying awe at Frieza's savior. He heard the Saiyan admit, "I was such a fool," before shifting his gaze to his savior and upon sight, Frieza felt a tremendous wave of shock surge through his body.

Upon slapping Vegeta's blast away, Cooler took a fleeting moment to enjoy the look of terror in Vegeta's eyes. Feeling a cold glare upon his back, Cooler turned his head to gaze into the scarlet, cold eyes that adorned nearly every member of his family. A small smile curved at his lips as he said, "Hello, brother."

* * *

**And that's chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed the update.**

**Two things I want to bring up, regarding this chapter:**

**1.) The Seeker Brigade that Cooler mentions in the earlier part of the chapter. Assuming this story goes as far as I've planned, they will be a group that will become more apparent later on in the story.**

**2.) Cooler's sensing ability. Since it isn't very practiced, I assume that it works similarly to a scouter, only picking up power levels once they begin increasing, but sort of ignoring power levels that are flat (Neither rising nor falling). That is, unless he concetrates.**

**And remember, Read, Review, and tell a friend ;) So, until next time!**

**Later Taters!**


	3. The Meeting: Another Saiyan?

"Take this, Frieza!" proclaimed Vegeta as the Saiyan Prince released a massive wave of energy at the back of his most hated enemy.

Vegeta's declaration reverberated across the vicinity and that, mixed with the power and magnitude of his blast, was enough to immediately halt the fighting between Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, and Cooler's Armored Squadron. They stopped mid-battle and watched as the blast soared at Frieza, but in the split second that Vegeta had released the energy blast, a figured of unbelievable speed appeared and slapped Vegeta's blast clean across the planet.

Upon closer observation, everyone found that the figure was none other than Cooler. Of course, Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo had no idea who this person was. Unlike Vegeta, who had fallen to his knees in despair, they weren't sure what to think of this new player. The only thing that they could discern was that this new figure looked unnervingly similar to Frieza; this similarity caused the fear-stricken Krillin to speak up.

"Is that another Frieza?!" he yelled out of shock and fear.

Dore and Neiz immediately shot Krillin insufferable glares for his ignorant observation. How dare he confuse their lord with Frieza? For that reason alone, they could've ended his life.

"No, you idiot, that is Lord Cooler. He is the most illustrious fighter in the galaxy," chimed Dore. Considering their mission, he then added, "Second only to Lord Frieza."

"Cooler?" questioned Gohan.

"Yes; he is Lord Frieza's older brother," cheerfully responded Neiz, enjoying any moment to speak of his lord.

"I don't care who he is!" roared Piccolo as he charged in with a fierce left hook to Dore's jaw that sent the brute hurtling across the sky. He then used his super speed to rapidly fly over to Neiz and connect a powerful knee to the Zaltian's frontal bone, followed by a double axe handle that knocked the alien out of the sky. Piccolo then placed his palm at the freefalling Zaltian and began charging energy for his Destructive Wave. Before he could release the wave, though, a spike in energy caught his attention. Piccolo looked up just in time to see Salza floating just above him with his hand encased in a sharpened aura.

All Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin, could do is gawk at the cyan-skinned alien as he slashed his hand down at Piccolo.

* * *

As for Cooler, after knocking Vegeta's blast away, the evil Arcosian took a moment to observe Vegeta's plight. _I understand why you would want my brother dead, Vegeta,_ thought Cooler. _After all, I want him dead as well, but I've come too far and taken too many risks by coming out here. I refuse to stick my neck this far out on the butcher's board just so that I can watch some low-life Saiyan steal this opportunity away from me. Frieza will die by my hands, and mine alone._

Behind the older Arcosian tyrant, he could feel a cold glare. He didn't have to turn around to know that it was his brother. Now, the question was how to handle the situation. Cooler needed to know one important thing in this moment: Was Frieza immortal? If by some cruel joke of the gods Frieza had gained immortality, then Cooler would have to drastically change his plan, but if Frieza was still killable by standard means, then by all means it was time for death to knock on Frieza's door.

The question is: How to go about the situation delicately? Frieza was a number of things, but dumb was not one of them. While Cooler had never expressed his desire to kill or even hurt Frieza before, it was no secret that they had a minor sibling rivalry. Well it was no secret in everyone else's eyes; of course Cooler knew the truth of the situation. In any event, it would be easy for Frieza to assume that Cooler journeyed out here to steal the wish and if that was the case, Frieza would no doubt play mind games. Cooler needed straight answers before he proceeded further with his plans. He would have to adjust his plans if Frieza was indeed immortal, but if not, then Cooler could continue ahead. Also, while the thought of immortality was never a high priority of Cooler's, if he had the prospect of attaining it, then by all means he would attempt to acquire it. At least with immortality, if by some means King Cold found out about Cooler's treachery, he would be able to stand against his father.

With all of this in consideration, Cooler decided the best route to go was to use Frieza's ultimate weakness against him, his vanity. Frieza saw himself as the greatest, most powerful, most perfect fighter in the universe. Even though it was obvious that their father outclassed the both of them, Frieza continued to look at himself in such a manner. For this very weakness, Cooler knew that he could manipulate his brother with ease. There was nothing that Frieza enjoyed more, than having someone, especially Cooler, dote at his power.

Cooler turned his head to look into the scarlet eyes that adorned nearly every member of his family and said, "Hello brother."

The astonishment that had been prevalent on Frieza's face moments ago immediately faded at the voice of his brother. In fact, it was replaced with a hint of frustration at Cooler's presence. "Hello? Cooler, what are you doing here?! You never mentioned that you were coming to this area of the galaxy, let alone this planet!"

Cooler was tempted to say, "You never asked," but that pretentious and borderline crass attitude he displayed on the spaceship earlier would do him no good right now. Now was the time for unassuming dispositions and slight servitude. "I know, brother, but I wanted it to be a surprise. When news spread that you would be attaining immortality, the servants and commanders wished to throw a grand party in your honor. I was on my way to Frieza Planet 419 to gather 'entertainment,' but upon reaching my destination, the sensors in my spaceship picked up an extremely large power level in this location. I knew that this was your relative location and I figured that you had powered up to your fourth form. After all, a power like yours can be felt across the entire galaxy. Being that you don't usually transform, I figured I'd be in for quite a show if I came to witness perfection at its best."

The smug smile that was spread across Frieza's face was all that Cooler needed to prove that he had done well.

"A party in my honor; that is wonderful news," replied Frieza with a gleeful smile, lost in his brother's words and forgetting his momentary fit of anger.

"Yes, brother, it is. Though I must ask, it may have been naivety on my part, but I kind of figured that your appearance would change once you were granted immortality." Truthfully, Cooler had no assumptions, but that is the only thing that came to mind when wanting to ascertain the knowledge of Frieza's status as an immortal.

Frieza's smile instantly faded into a deep frown. For an instant, Cooler feared that he may have overstepped his current boundaries, but at Frieza's words, Cooler relaxed. "This meddlesome idiot is to blame for that," replied Frieza as he pointed at Vegeta. "Him and his little partners in crime up there." Frieza then gestured to Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo that were still in the air behind him with Dore and Neiz there as well. "The dragon balls turned to stone before I could make my wish. I'm sure that you can imagine how enraged I was and frankly, still am. So if you don't mind, I will get back to ending Vegeta and then the troublesome three up there are next. You should pay close attention; maybe you'll learn something, brother." Frieza stepped past Cooler as he went back to attend to Vegeta.

As Frieza stepped around him, a broad smile began to spread across Cooler's face. It was a shame to know that the dragon balls were no longer any good, but it didn't matter anymore. Frieza was still mortal and now it was time to end his pathetic life. Cooler was beginning to reach into his inner power, knowing that he would need it to finish Frieza, but a sudden surge of power stopped him.

* * *

Completely caught off guard by the appearance of this new foe, Piccolo was unable to manage the tiniest of guards. This left Gohan and Krillin too shell-shocked to move as they watched the cyan-skinned alien drop his ki-sharpened hand down upon their Namekian friend's skull.

However, before Salza could land the fatal blow to Piccolo, a hand caught his wrist before impact, the unexpected contact extinguishing the Brench's ki-blade. The appearance of the hand brought along a powerful rush of wind, as if the very atmosphere had given way to this new figure's presence.

Blinded by the sudden rush of air, no one could focus on this new fighter, but once the air had died down, everyone looked to the sky to find that Goku was Piccolo's savior. The Saiyan hero had Salza gripped tightly by the wrist as he glared daggers into the eye of the very person who had aimed to harm him earlier.

The Brench commander struggled against Goku's firm grip as he alternated between staring the Saiyan hero in the eye and looking back at the vice grip around his wrist. In the heat of the moment, Salza hadn't recognized Goku from the spaceship, but as he continued to look back into the hero's eyes, he eventually came to the understanding. "Y-you're zi guy from zi ship," stated Salza once the realization dawned on him.

Goku took a moment to continue glaring at Salza before saying, "How dare you try and hurt my friend?" He amplified his point by squeezing harder on Salza's wrist, producing a sneer of pain from the Brench commander.

Salza gritted his teeth through the pain, but managed to reply, "Zi Namek should've gone ahead and died with zi rest of zi slugs."

Goku's expression immediately soured further from Salza's words. To silence the cyan-skinned invader from speaking more hateful words, Goku attempted to thrust a knee into the abdomen of Salza, however, the Brench managed to catch the attack with his free hand. He then used Goku's momentary distraction with the knee attack to yank his hand from the Saiyan's grip and then use said hand to release an energy wave at point blank range.

Goku anticipated the attack, though. Just as Salza was ready to release the wave, Goku leaned back and simultaneously kicked the Brench's hand into the air, forcing the blast to fly off into space. The Saiyan hero then floated back upright and sent a fist hurtling into Salza's face, but instead making contact, Goku stopped his fist just before impact and allowed the energy behind the attack to knock Salza away, and away the Brench went.

He coasted back several meters before he was finally able to right himself. Floating upright, Salza brought a glove to his nose and began shaking with anger as he realized that Goku had made his nosebleed without even touching him. _What is this guy_, he thought. _He didn't even punch me, but my nose is running like a leaky faucet, this just isn't right._ Vegeta's laughter brought the Brench out of his reverie of thoughts.

The resonation of Vegeta's cackle called the attention of everyone in the area. Even Frieza halted his task of killing the Saiyan Prince to find out what he thought was so humorous. "You shouldn't look so upset, Salza," stated Vegeta once he brought his laughter under control. "How did you really expect to fair against a Saiyan?"

Vegeta's words brought a look of surprise out of Cooler and Frieza, most notably, Frieza.

"Not another one of you miserable monkeys," said the galactic overlord as he turned to look at Goku. "I swear; it's like you're multiplying!"

Salza spat down at the ground to show how much he cared for Vegeta's declaration. He then brought his eyes back up to rest on Goku, who was as serious as he could've been in that moment. "So, he's a Saiyan. As far as I'm concerned he's just another animal ready to be slaughtered."

Dore and Neiz then appeared behind Goku.

With a sinister chuckle, Neiz said, "I don't think that I've ever killed a Saiyan. This will be fun."

"Let's wreck this guy," boasted Dore.

"Prepare to face zi wrath of Cooler's Armored Squadron, you Saiyan filth," threatened Salza.

Though Goku kept his attention focused on his assailants, he could see that Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin were ready to jump in to assist. "No, you guys," Goku said while keeping his eyes trained on Salza and using his senses to keep tabs on the accosters behind him. "They want to fight a Saiyan, so I'm going to give them a fight."

At Goku's words, the others immediately stopped. Piccolo was the closest to Goku and could clearly see the determination etched into the Saiyan hero's face. As Goku continued to wait for Cooler's squad to attack, Piccolo could see that Goku's attention was diverted between watching his opponents and his friends. With this in mind, the Namekian called out, "Krillin! Gohan! To the ground. Now!" as he dove out of the air.

Gohan and Krillin paused for a moment at the randomness of Piccolo's statement, but quickly followed their friend, figuring that he must've had a reason for calling them out of the air.

With his friends out of danger's reach, Goku focused solely on his opponents, waiting for one of them to strike.

The Saiyan hero didn't have to wait long as all three opponents sent small energy blasts at him. Goku easily evaded by rapidly flying off into the air as the three blasts connected where his position had once been, bringing to life a large cloud of smoke from the explosion.

The crew quickly pursued Goku as they rapidly flew off into the air. Goku came back into view high above the plume of smoke and easily sensed the appearance of Neiz behind him. The Zaltian attempted thrust a punch at Goku's back, only to have the Saiyan hero flip over the punch and use Neiz's arm as spring so that he could fly higher into the sky.

Once Goku righted himself after dodging Neiz, Salza was the next to attack. The Brench appeared a couple of yards away from Goku and dove in with roundhouse kick. Goku easily evaded by ducking under the attack and soaring behind Salza. He then quickly flew higher into the air as Salza turned to backhand him.

High above Salza and Neiz, Dore was the next to attack. The brute attempted to axe handle Goku out of the air, but his hands flew through an afterimage. Perplexed by Goku's speed, he was caught off guard by the roundhouse kick that Goku delivered to his face, the force behind it managing to knock his helmet off as he was knocked back a few yards.

Goku then pointed his palm down at Salza and Neiz, and emitted a powerful energy blast. Salza managed to dodge the attack, but Neiz met the blast head on and tried to catch it. Yet, the power behind the attack was enough to push Neiz down until he crashed into the water.

Back in the sky, after emitting the blast, Goku was met with a punch from either side of his body by Dore and Salza. Using both arms to fend off either attack, the squad believed that they had Goku caught and unable to defend further. With this belief, Neiz shot forth out of the air and aimed to land a fierce punch into Goku's abdomen. However, the Saiyan hero was far from done.

Utilizing his legs, he brought his knee up to block Neiz and began channeling his energy as he emitted an explosive wave that blew all of his accosters away.

The shockwave of the minor attack managed to disorient all of the squad, but Neiz was the first to come to. He was instantly met with a powerful knee to his abdomen by Goku. Then the Earth-raised Saiyan raised his clasped hands over his head as he prepared to knock Neiz out of the air. Before he could do this, Dore appeared with a swift kick, yet the kick was directed through another afterimage.

"Not again!" yelled the green brute as he paused to look for Goku.

"Right here!" responded Goku as he appeared above Dore and utilized his double axe handle to smack Dore and Neiz out of the air. The evil duo was sent crashing into the ground several meters from Cooler.

With two foes down, Goku waited patiently in the air for Salza. While waiting, Goku quickly brought his hand up to catch something to the right side of his head. Suddenly Salza's booted-foot came into appearance as it was locked in a firm grip by Goku.

Salza was in complete awe of the power that he was facing. Goku had managed to dispose of his two comrades without even being at a loss of breathe and now the Saiyan had caught his sneak attack like it was child's play. "Wh-who are you?" he questioned.

"My name is Goku. I am from Earth and though this is not my home, I will not allow you or anyone else to cause any more harm to this planet," responded Goku before pulling Salza over his head and beginning to spin the Brench around rapidly. After an innumerable amount of rotations, Goku finally released Salza, allowing the commander to spear into the crater with Neiz and Dore. Salza impacted the ground with an explosive amount of force as Goku landed on the ground between Cooler's downed squadron and Cooler himself.

Though Cooler was deeply displeased with his squad's performance, he was much more impressed with Goku's power. The Saiyan had put down his entire squadron without as much as a hint of difficulty. In fact, Cooler was sure that Goku hadn't even begun to show his true power. To find a Saiyan with that kind of power was a rarity indeed. A part of Cooler wanted to jump into battle with the Saiyan to truly test the monkey's power, but Goku was a part of Frieza's problem, not his.

"So I take it that you are Frieza," Goku said as he indicated to the evil overlord. "I have to admit that I thought you'd be taller."

Cooler couldn't restrain the amused smile that came upon his face at Goku's words, especially when he heard Frieza growl in anger from behind him.

"I assure you, you mindless monkey, my stature plays no role in my cruelty. If anything, I'd advise that you get down and begin begging for your life, and maybe – and I do mean maybe – I'll spare your life in spite of that dimwitted comment," replied Frieza as he stepped away from Vegeta and came to stand alongside his brother.

"I think I'll pass, Frieza," responded Goku with a confident smile.

Frieza began smiling at Goku's overconfidence. This Saiyan was just as brash and ill-advised as the rest of his clan. As far as Frieza was concerned, this new opponent would be as easily dealt with as every other to step in his path. "Well I assure you, Saiyan, I won't pass on killing you."

Throughout Goku and Frieza's back and forth, Vegeta could see movement coming from behind Goku. The very mound of dirt that Cooler's Squadron had been place inside of was shifting as someone slowly tried to rise. It was a sneak attack and Vegeta was sure that Goku would be too preoccupied to dodge.

In an instant, Salza burst free of his earthy grave and emitted a purple-shaded energy wave at the back of Goku, announcing, "Die you Saiyan trash!" as he did so.

Goku was far from shocked by the declaration from behind him, though. He could sense that something was stirring from where Cooler's squad had been placed, but just as he turned to deflect the blast, Goku became truly shocked. Before Goku could fully turn, Vegeta had appeared behind him.

For the Saiyan prince, pushing his body beyond its limits was anything, but difficult. Though his body was battered and bruised, when he saw that Goku was about to be the victim of a cowardly sneak-attack, he jumped into action. As much as Vegeta hated to admit it, at this point, this low class Saiyan was their only hope for survival. Using Cooler and Frieza's preoccupation with Goku, the Saiyan prince used his remaining strength to sprint around the brothers and Goku just as Salza was springing out of the ground. As the blast was hurtled, Vegeta landed on his left foot, used a great deal of strength to backhand Salza's blast away, and lunged forward to use up the remainder of his energy reserve by sending a blast of his own at the Brench commander.

Quite naturally, Vegeta's attack was far from enough to cause a great deal of damage to Salza, let alone kill him. The commander caught Vegeta's attack with both hands and then threw the blast into the air with relative ease, offering Vegeta a sly smile once he threw the blast away.

However, Piccolo was on standby to finish things. After threw Vegeta's blast into the air, Piccolo caught said blast and threw it back down at the Brench, adding his Destructive Wave to finish things. Preoccupied with Vegeta, Salza had no way to block as Vegeta's blast, followed by Piccolo's Destructive Wave, fell down upon him in an incinerating fashion. In an instant, Salza and the ground below him were reduced to nothing as Piccolo's blast barreled through.

As for Neiz and Dore, the two jumped out of the way just as Piccolo's Destructive Wave crashed down upon their commander.

"No; he killed Salza!" exclaimed Dore.

"I'm going to kill that Namek bitch!" shrieked Neiz.

The duo rose high into the sky until they appeared on either side of Piccolo. Roaring in anger, Dore dove in first, but was caught with a brain-rattling elbow to the face by Piccolo. While his comrade was disoriented, Neiz leapt at Piccolo as he tried to unleashed a barrage of punches, but was angered to find that he couldn't land a punch on the speedy Namekian.

Piccolo eventually caught one of Neiz's punches and squeezed said fist until Neiz was trapped into submission. Piccolo was ready to end the Zaltian until two big green arms wrapped around his body, forcing Piccolo's release of Neiz. Piccolo looked back to see the recovered Dore behind him and holding him in a painful bear hug. The Namek attempted to struggle, but stopped once Dore started applying so much pressure that he yelped in pain.

With Piccolo entrapped, Neiz raised a hand above his head and allowed an electrically-charged purple energy to surround his hand as he prepared his finisher. "Take this!" he declared as he released his fully-charged ultimate attack.

Unfortunately for the remainder of Cooler's Armored Squadron, they fell right into Piccolo's trap. In the instant that Neiz released the attack, Piccolo lodged his elbow into Dore's stomach, allowing the Namekian to move out of the way as the scorching energy of Neiz's attack encased Dore. In less than a second, the forest-green brute was turned into a human-sized pile of embers.

"Oh, no, Dore!" yelled Neiz in horror.

"Worry about yourself!" proclaimed Piccolo after appearing behind Neiz.

Stunned by Piccolo's appearance, the Zaltian was unable to move as Piccolo's palm came to rest against his back. "No, wai…AHHH!" sounded Neiz before being completely obliterated by Piccolo's Destructive Wave.

As for Vegeta, after seeing that Salza was dead, he fell to his knees out of exhaustion. He had already used a lot of energy to attack Frieza earlier, but that last attack was pulling on his life-force. He took a moment to catch his breath as Goku stepped over to check on him. Vegeta quickly placed a halting palm at Goku to keep him from coming closer. Vegeta wasn't sure if he could say that he had been through worst, but he'd never accept help from anyone, especially not Goku. After catching his breath, Vegeta stood back up, though he was slightly slumped over from exhaustion. He turned to Goku and angrily said, "Kakarot, what was that?! The Namekian had enough nerve to kill those idiots, why didn't you?!"

Goku turned away from Vegeta and said, "Vegeta, it isn't in my nature to kill people. I understand that you and I don't have the same beliefs, but I'd appreciate it if you respect my honor code."

"Honor code?!" shrieked Vegeta. The Saiyan prince then stepped around so that Goku would face him. "Let me tell you something about your honor code, Kakarot. Those two monsters over there laugh at your honor code. They use you honor code as a bum wad and then dispose of it as if means nothing because in their eyes, your honor code is nothing. These are brutal savage beings and would kill you to simply satisfy a cheap laugh," stated Vegeta as he pointed out Frieza and Cooler. "These are cold-blooded killers! The only way to win this fight is if you kill, do you understand?!"

"I read you loud and clear," stated Cooler as he emitted a death beam from his index finger and pierced Vegeta's chest.

Goku's facial expression faltered to a look of pure horror as Vegeta collapsed onto the ground, a puddle of blood beginning to form beneath his body. Goku then turned back to Cooler. "Why did you do that? He was no threat to you. In fact, he hadn't even attacked you since you've been here. There is no honor in attacking someone like that."

"Say what you want, Saiyan. If I didn't do it, I'm sure that my brother would have," replied Cooler, eliciting a smile from Frieza.

Goku then fully turned to face the two brothers, but Vegeta's voice reclaimed his attention.

"Kakarot!" said Vegeta through the pain of his body.

Goku looked back to Vegeta and said, "Save your strength. I will handle this."

"No, Kakarot! Listen to me, you have to understand what kind of monsters you are dealing with," began Vegeta again as he struggled through the pain and the emotions that were beginning to well up inside of him. "We did everything that he asked and yet he still destroyed us. He took me away from my father. He told me that he'd kill him if I didn't do what he said. I did everything and more for Frieza, and that monster still killed my father." Vegeta could feel the tears beginning to form in his eyes, but he couldn't stop now. Goku needed to know this pivotal information. "He was scared of us, Kakarot. He was scared that we would rise up against him and he was scared that the Super Saiyan would one day return. He knew that his days were numbered with us around. They both knew it!" Vegeta began hacking up blood, but tried to calm his lungs so that he could continue talking. "You are the Super Saiyan of legend, Kakarot. I can feel it in my bones. You will be the one to put an end to their tyranny and avenge our fallen race. Please, Kakarot, you have to do this. It was them and that wretched organization that did this to me. They made me what I am. Don't let them do it to anyone else….d-don't let th-them." With those final words, Vegeta closed his eyes for the final time. His life of pain and misery had come to a horrible end, but alas, it was finally ended.

Goku stepped over to his fallen comrade, no, his fallen friend. "I understand now, Vegeta," he said. "You didn't have a decision in your life. You were brought up in a world of pain and forced to thrive. While the things that you have done over the years can't be excused, I feel better knowing that you had the capacity for good inside of you." Goku scooped Vegeta's body up and using his energy, blasted a hole in the dirt. He then placed Vegeta's body inside and covered the hole up. Standing back to his full position, Goku said, "Rest easy, Vegeta. You deserve it." Goku finally looked back to Cooler and Frieza with anger etched into his face. "You two are monsters. You kill at a whim and enjoy every last moment of your terror. Well your era of terror comes to an end today!"

"Such a courageous fellow," taunted Cooler.

"Indeed; they are always the most enjoyable to kill," replied Frieza. "Say brother, how about you handle mister mighty Saiyan while I take care of his friends. And once I'm done with them, we can take our time tearing him apart." Frieza didn't bother waiting for Cooler's reply, assuming that he'd agree.

However, Frieza was wrong. Now that Cooler understood that Frieza was still mortal, being subservient to his demands was the last thing the Cooler planned on doing. "I'll take a rain check, Frieza," replied Cooler, halting his brother from his planned movement. Cooler was intrigued by Goku's power and at the very least; he could allow Frieza to get a little winded from beating Goku mercilessly. So, with that he said, "Wouldn't you rather kill all of them without my unneeded intrusion?"

Frieza snorted at Cooler's reply. "If you're too scared to fight, then maybe you should just say that. Go on, Cooler; let the big boys fight," stated Frieza as he dismissed his brother.

Cooler slyly smiled as he floated away to higher ground. _Think whatever you want, Frieza, but I promise, you will regret every thought once I get my hands on you_, he thought. Cooler floated away to a high mountain ridge as he looked down upon his brother and Goku. He looked off to the side to see Goku's friends landing on an equally high mountain ridge, but a fair distance away from Cooler. The older tyrant then looked down as Goku slammed his foot down onto the ground to use as a platform as he charged at Frieza. _Well let's see what the Saiyan can do._

* * *

**Not much to say, as far as author's notes, right now. But I would like to promote a story that I've recently come across. I typically don't do this, but the story deserves more attention than what it has gotten so far, so I'm just trying to help the author out. The author's name is Drakthul and the title of the story is "Dragonball Z: The Catalyst." If you haven't read this story yet, I'd advise that you check it out. It has proven to be a very entertaining read so far.**

**Later Taters!**


	4. Battle Begins: Stories of the Past

A Saiyan with a kind and loving heart; the statement alone sounded preposterous. Yet, the aforementioned statement seemed to label this _Goku_ perfectly. Not only was this Saiyan abnormally kind, but his power was extraordinary as well. Cooler had always thought of Vegeta as being the strongest Saiyan in existence, and that was still a laughable power in the eyes of Cooler. Well, there was still that incorrigible folk tale of a legendary Super Saiyan. Cooler had often used the tale as a method to tease young Frieza in their childhood. After all, it was nothing more than a dreamt up idea of superpower. It was designed to give those repugnant Saiyans something to hope for. The fact that Vegeta dared to call Goku the legendary Super Saiyan was proof of that notion.

Their ancestor, Chilled, passed down word to be cautious of beings that can change their hair color to gold; apparently they were named Saiyans. Cooler didn't place much concern with those reportedly final words of their ancestor, though. To date, the only alterations that Saiyans could make to their bodies were the transformations into Great Apes. This was based off of Frieza's recordings of the Saiyans, added with Cooler's study on his own personal Saiyan pet, Onen. After Frieza had placed claim on Vegeta, Cooler decided that he'd like to have one of the monkeys as a servant as well. Sneaking around Frieza's and his henchman's watchful eyes, Cooler had one of the soldiers kidnap a random Saiyan. And since then, Onen had served Cooler faithfully. The warrior had a sense for fighting and for a long time, Cooler had allowed Onen to go on missions. In fact, Onen had grown so much on Cooler that the monarch allowed the Saiyan to spar with one of his Armored Squadron and even himself from time to time. However, after several years of missions, Onen's power level had jumped from a measly 3,000 to a slightly unnerving 20,000. He was still no match for Cooler's Armored Squadron and certainly not Cooler himself, but the tyrant decided that Onen's adventures as a soldier would come to an immediate halt; he didn't want to run the risk of his Saiyan pet growing too powerful.

The fact of the matter was that Saiyan's were beasts and had never been known as anything more than that. They lived and breathed fighting and the destruction of others. While Cooler felt that the desire to fight was more than likely present in Goku's behavior, it was clear that the desire to kill was not. This intrigued Cooler immensely. Adding in Goku's abnormally excellent fighting ability and Cooler was downright entranced by this would-be hero. For this reason alone, Cooler decided that the destruction of his brother could wait. No one was leaving Planet Namek anytime soon; therefore, a moment of hesitation wouldn't harm his plans. Furthermore, let's say Goku really was one of those dreamt up _Super Saiyans_. The thought of finally squashing that annoying folk tale brought almost as much joy to Cooler as the thought of the destruction of Frieza.

Observing from his high perch, Cooler watched as Goku and Frieza began to fight. The two warriors started off with a clash of their fists before zipping off into hyper speed and then beginning to violently clash all across the area. Cooler smirked at the events as they unfolded, finding this new challenge for Frieza humorous. As the fight continued on, Cooler's impression of Goku only intensified. Keeping up with Frieza's speed at any transformation is quite impressive, but being able to match Frieza's speed while in his fourth form was absolutely remarkable.

Taking his eyes off of the fight, Cooler tossed a lazy glance towards Goku's friends. Even from the distance, Cooler could clearly see the look of shock and awe on each of their faces. Figuring that such a fight was truly awe-inspiring for the weaklings, Cooler couldn't help but bare a condescending smirk. While Cooler was definitely impressed with Goku's fighting ability, so far, there was only one word to describe the fight: boring. Cooler could move faster, strike harder, and blow up things a lot better than what he was seeing.

This notion of boredom allowed Cooler's mind to wander.

As the various thoughts and memories began splaying across Cooler's mind like a random playlist, one memory final stuck. It was a distant memory of one of the vicious training sessions that Cooler and Frieza had to endure. King Cold made sure to instruct all of his children in the art of fighting. From their father's point of view, strength and power were the most important traits for any ruler to have, especially his offspring.

Cooler remembered the day perfectly. He, his brother, and father were stationed in one of the palace's training halls. They had been working on perfecting one of the Cold family's signature techniques, the Death Beam. In this particular session, Cold had desired to work on his sons' control of each form's power. King Cold felt that it be important to have at least a minor amount of mastery with each form, even though he doubted that they would ever need to go past the first form.

_Cooler looked over to the side and watched as his brother lazily twiddled his thumbs. If Frieza was usually a horrifying sight, having to look at him in his third form was especially disturbing However, Cooler would've taken all of the hideousness in the cosmos if it meant that he could be done with this tedious training; alas, that wasn't the case. Unfortunately, Frieza was gifted with a higher power level at birth; therefore, King Cold didn't feel the need to push him quite as hard. Cooler, on the other hand, felt the full brunt of King Cold's brutalizing training. Cooler looked away from his brother and up to his father for a brief moment. The scowl King Cold was giving him made Cooler quickly avert his attention to the practice dummy before him, his eyesight focusing on the red bull's-eye covering the dummy's heart. He carefully lifted his right arm and pointed the index finger at the dummy. Aiming carefully, Cooler's arm began trembling slightly; he really didn't want to miss this shot. Firing the beam at the dummy, Cooler unfortunately missed and he felt the repercussions almost instantly. Before Cooler could do anything for protection, he was struck in the back of his head and was knocked across the floor._

"_How many times do we have to go over this, Cooler? Your aim has to be spot on with this kind of attack; you can't just fire a beam and hope that it kills your enemy!" shouted King Cold, anger evident over the king's face._

_Cooler's head was throbbing in pain as he slowly got to his knees. A tear threatened to fall from the adolescent tyrant's eye. He turned to face the still anger-filled King Cold and nearly voided his armor from the frightening stare that he was receiving from his father._

"_Now, you will do it again! And you'd better get it right!" shouted King Cold, violently tapping the button of the remote in his hand. In an instant, the dummy before them was pulled into the floor and out popped a refreshed one._

"_B-but, dad…I..I….Can I please do it in my next form?" pleaded Cooler, fear evident in his voice of failing his father again. King Cold's hard glare didn't budge and Cooler felt that another swift blow would be coming to him soon. "P-please; I have better control of my fourth form than any other."_

_King Cold seemed poised to say something, but Frieza interjected._

"_Cooler, you should know that what you just said is a lie," stated Frieza, who was still quietly sitting in his seat. Cooler's mouth dropped open from Frieza's blatant statement. Frieza smiled and continued with, "No matter what you may think, you can't walk around with that amount of power under control. That amount of energy can't be as well suppressed as with the other forms, that is why we have our different forms in the first place. We learned all of this before we even began training with father; it looks like someone wasn't paying attention."_

_The proud smile that King Cold gave Frieza in that moment tore a hole through Cooler. Cooler had never received a look of such pride from his father. In fact, ever since Frieza's birth, Cooler had been receiving less and less smiles from King Cold, proud smiles or any others. Cooler then looked away from his father and to his younger brother, a spark of anger beginning to form inside of his body._

"_Good job, Frieza" stated Cold before allowing his smile to falter and then looked back over to Cooler. "Now, as for you, I suggest that you get this right." King Cold gestured over to the dummy as he awaited Cooler to comply._

"_But, father, look how well you maintain the second form. If you can control yourself so well, then I'm sure that I can…" started Cooler, only to be silenced to Cold._

"_Be Quiet!" shouted the evil monarch. "I will not here another word on the subject, Cooler. You will practice at every form and you will master each and every one of them! Now, fire!"_

_Cooler shot one final glance over to his brother and noted the smile that had appeared on Frieza's face, before turning back to the dummy. He aimed yet again, and finally fired. He had missed again and felt the repercussions, sure enough._

Cooler snarled as the thought faded out of his head. That was only one of many times that Frieza's favoritism had come into play. Just the mere thought of such events made Cooler's blood boil. He couldn't even count on both hands and feet how many times King Cold had told him that he could never completely control the fourth form. Well, Cooler had proved Frieza and his father wrong. He had full control of his fourth form, and not once did the power of his current form ever exceed his capabilities.

He took another moment to glance down at the action unfolding below. Within no time, his mind had begun wandering yet again. The various thoughts, scenarios, and memories sped through his mind until a thought stuck. This time his mind recounted the events of Frieza's designation as the next head of the PTO.

_In a rare instance, Cooler was allowed to walk around freely while in his fourth form. He stood out on the extravagantly large terrace to his bedroom that overlooked the magnificent imperial city of Arcos. He leaned over the railing as he gazed into the sky. Looking past the dome that protected their city from the bitter, icy winds of Arcos's natural climate, Cooler dazedly watched the luminous moon of Arcos. He knew that someday soon it'd come time to choose an heir to the PTO, and he was growing ever so fretful that the person would not be him. The organization held the highest position of authority in the galaxy, only someone of extraordinary excellence deserved to be at its head; not some half-wit like Frieza._

_Sometimes he felt bad that he thought of Frieza in such a manner; they were brothers after all. It wasn't Frieza's fault that he was born with a higher power level and that Cold loved him more than Cooler. Wait; Cold didn't love Frieza more! He just pressured Cooler more because Cooler needed to be a rightful heir. After all, if he had no intentions of giving the position to Cooler, why would he push so hard? This was Cooler's family for goodness sake. They loved him unequivocally, just as he cared for them. He and Frieza were brothers, and Cold was his father; nothing would change that._

_While Cooler was lost in his thoughts, he barely caught the hint of another's presence on the balcony. Cooler leapt into the air to place space in between him and whoever this mysterious adversary was. He leapt high and turned to gaze down at the balcony, but there wasn't anyone there. Could he have been hearing things?_

_Before he could ponder this further, Cooler was struck in his back and knocked back onto the balcony. Landing on his hands, Cooler quickly recovered from the low-impact attack and flipped over so that he could face the accoster. Turning to the opponent, Cooler was extremely agitated to find that it was none other than his annoying half-sister, Frost._

_A while back, King Cold had been privy to various moments of infidelity. His acts of cheating produced the worrisome female, Frost, and the spineless male, Sheer. Sheer looked almost exactly like Cooler, save for the dark blue colored skin and the frankly less intimidating demeanor. Sheer may have the Cold family's blood coursing through his veins, but he certainly didn't have the power-inspiring personality of every Cold family member. As for Frost, she was everything that a Cold family member resembled. Her only downfall was that she didn't have the Cold family's signature red eyes. Instead, her eyes were golden, her skin was pink, and she had purple bio-gems. Her body was very lean and she had an extremely curvy figure. For an Arcosian woman, she was considered one of the most beautiful women on the planet. And her beauty was only rivaled by her power; she was every bit as strong as Cooler, which could be perceived from the few training sessions that they had. No matter how strong she may be, it didn't mean that she was any less annoying to the temperamental Cooler._

_Even now, she floated up there in her fourth form snickering at how she had gotten the jump on Cooler. Quieting her fit of laughter, Frost said, "You really shouldn't be so jumpy, scaredy-cat."_

_Cooler stood straight up and glared at Frost before saying, "One of these days, Frost, I'm going to actually hurt you for sneaking up on me."_

_Frost rolled her eyes as she carefully landed on the terrace. "And I will try my hardest not to burst with tears, your royal scariness," she replied sarcastically._

_As a reply, Cooler grunted with irritation. This is why he could only stand so much of Frost. She undermines his authority at every turn. She is only a bastard child; she has no right to speak as if she is true royalty. "What do you want?" he asked._

_Stepping past Cooler, Frost said, "Father sent me to retrieve you; he said that you are needed in the grand hall."_

"_What?!" exclaimed Cooler. There would only be one reason for King Cold to call Cooler to the grand hall at such short notice. It must be time to announce an heir. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"_

"_Quit being such a fuddy-duddy, Cooler," stated Frost as she casually leaned against the doorframe. "I just wanted to have some fun with my brother."_

_Cooler snorted in disgust at the word __**brother**__. He was no brother of hers and he didn't mind telling her. Rushing past Frost, Cooler said, "Next time, when you come to deliver important information, just deliver it and leave. And by the way, I'm not your brother; you're just a bastard child." _

_As Cooler walked away he heard Frost sarcastically say, "Thy will shall be down, prince pain in the ass."_

_*3 hours later*_

_People filed into the grand hall like cattle. The audience in attendance included every important person from Planet Arcos and expanded to the limits of the galaxy. There were all different races and warriors, some that Cooler recognized and some that he didn't. It appeared that King Cold had spread word of this christening ceremony to every race affiliated with the PTO._

_Cooler supposed that it was quite fitting. All of these people would be bowing to the next head of the planet trade, after all. In fact, Cooler smiled smugly as he mentally placed himself in the position, having all of these people bending to his every command._

_He and his brother sat on either side of their father at the rather large table before them. The table sat atop a large platform, furthering the notion that the Arcosians were above the rest of the galaxy's creatures._

_Once the Grand Hall had filled to its capacity, King Cold decided to call the ceremony to order._

_Cold stood tall beside his seated sons as he said, "What a joyous day this is! My followers, I have called you all here today because this day marks the beginning of an era, an era of continued supremacy by my people. You see – while I have certainly not grown old or even remotely close to death – the time to name an heir has come. It is time to christen the next head of the grandest organization in the galaxy, the Planet Trade Organization!"_

_A round of applause filtered through the room as the weaklings before them heralded the next leader of their meager lives. Oh how Cooler couldn't wait for his name to be declared._

_After the applause died out, King Cold began speaking more. Cooler found the speech somewhat boring so he allowed time to scan over the audience members in attendance._

_Looking to the front row first, Cooler instantly caught sight of his mother. Sitting on either side of her was the bastard children of King Cold, Sheer and Frost. Cooler never really understood why his mother chose to have any dealings with them; they were perfect reminders of her husband's infidelity. Cooler cared for his mother, but he considered her especially weak for caring for another woman's children. Nevertheless, Frost and Sheer sat proudly on the front row. Cooler couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the fact that they'd never get the opportunity to sit at the height of Arcosian power, they'd always be the forgotten children of existence._

_Allowing his eyes to leave his mother, he glanced over to the other side of the room. The very first person – or rather animal – that he caught sight of was King Vegeta. How could he miss the monkey king with that outrageous hair atop Vegeta's head? In any event, Vegeta sat front row alongside his wife and a few of his top soldiers. Cooler didn't know too much about the Saiyans. It hadn't been long since his family and the PTO began working with them. From what he heard from his father, he knew that they Saiyans were nothing, but beasts, humanoid animals. He did recall that there was mention from their ancestor, Chilled, about the Saiyans, but he couldn't quite remember what the last words were at the moment. He'd definitely look into it after the ceremony._

"_With all of that said, I do believe that it is about time that I tell you all about your next leader," stated King Cold, bringing Cooler out of his thoughts._

_The young tyrant to be, looked up at his father as Cold said, "I have done the very best that I can for him. I have challenged his mind, body and soul time after time again, and every single time he proved to withstand my efforts."_

_Cooler perked up slightly at his father's words. Who else could King Cold have been speaking about? Cooler couldn't even count the times that his father had pushed him beyond his limits._

"_He is an extraordinary young man. I can't even begin to tell you all how many times that he has exceeded my expectations. He has become more than I ever could've dreamt of. He is the perfect example of power and prestige blended into one being. He is, beyond any other explanations, a true protégé child."_

_Cooler looked to the side, seeing Frieza sitting on the other side of King Cold. His younger brother just sat there. His facial expression was positively void of any emotion. Cooler concluded that Frieza had long since given up on the thought of becoming head of the PTO. He smiled as he thought of how he'd rub his new position in Frieza's face day after day. Cooler would have a truly joyous life as the ruler of the galaxy._

"_And it is because of his extraordinary talents that I crown him the heir to my throne, the head of the Planet Trade Organization, and the new ruler of the galaxy!" King Cold stepped behind his large, throne-like chair, leaving it open to his next heir._

_Cooler nearly jumped out his chair as he aimed to jump into his father's, but he wanted to wait for his name. He needed to hear his name!_

"_Without further ado, I give you all my heir and your new ruler, Lord Frieza!" declared King Cold with a grand gesture._

_The entire audience leaped to their feet as they all clapped joyfully for Frieza. Cooler, on the other hand, was frozen. He couldn't believe it. All of those brutal training sessions. All of those constant strikes and painful lessons by his father. He had succumbed to all of it thinking that one day it'd pay off, that one day he'd become an heir to throne. But he wasn't the heir, Frieza was. Frieza was. Frieza WAS! An anger the likes of which he had never felt before began diffusing throughout his body. This was beyond embarrassing! How dare his father do this to him!_

_Cooler watched with a scolding glare as Frieza lifted from his seat and happily sat in the royal throne. He did as best as he could to keep from attacking his brother, but that disgusting smile on Frieza's face wasn't helping matters. He turned his head forward and lowered it so that he didn't have to look at anyone. He needed to get his thoughts under control before he lost it._

_While Cooler attempted to gather his thoughts and calm himself, Frieza casually leaned over. He placed his mouth just before Cooler's ear and whispered, "I guess I'll be the one rubbing this in your face, huh, Cooler?"_

_Frieza then emitted that god-awful cackle of a laugh as he sat back upright in his seat._

_It was in that moment that something clicked inside of Cooler's mind. Every thought of brotherhood was washed away. Every notion of family was forgotten. It was on this day that Cooler vowed vengeance, he vowed to one day overthrow Frieza and take the royal throne for himself._

After the ceremony had concluded, King Cold had called both his sons into his private quarters. He discussed things with the boys, knowing full well that Cooler would be disgruntled. Cooler had to listen to his father tell him how his brother was better than him. It was incredibly enraging, but he kept his emotions under control. After all was said and done, King Cold had given Cooler a small area of the galaxy to control and promised a section of the PTO headquarters specifically for Cooler.

Alas, things hadn't gone as Cooler hoped that day. It was an embarrassing memory, something that he tried as best not to think about. It wasn't just the recollection of being superseded by Frieza, but also that his vow of vengeance had been so forlorn. Naturally, it was incredibly difficult to oppose Frieza with their father around and of course, there was that pesky notion that Frieza was slightly stronger than Cooler.

Since adolescence, Cooler had strived to become stronger than his brother. If he couldn't surpass Frieza in raw strength, he decided to place faith in some of the more unique abilities in the galaxy. In his conquests of several planets, Cooler had come across a fair share of people with incredible abilities that could seriously damage opponents of a much higher power level. Therefore, Cooler had established a team of soldiers that voyaged across the galaxy to attain beings with unusual abilities. He named the team his Seeker Brigade. Thanks to this team, Cooler's abilities as a fighter had grown very much so. Some of his loyal soldiers, such as his Armored Squadron, had begun calling him the most illustrious fighter in the galaxy. However, these abilities still had their faults and Cooler felt that they wouldn't be enough to best Frieza in battle. He had begun stressing over how to defeat Frieza, finding that his older sibling was just too strong, until it happened; he achieved a level of power beyond his wildest dreams. He had finally risen above Frieza and his plan for supremacy was finally able to gain steam!

* * *

The fight before Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin's eyes was truly mind-boggling. They had already seen how truly horrible Frieza's power could be, but they never would've guessed that Goku would be able to keep up – step for step – with that monster. Then again, it was a foolish thought. Of course Goku would be able to stop Frieza. Heck, if he couldn't, who could?

Piccolo watched tentatively as the fight unfolded. He found it quite humorous to watch the two super-beings go at it. He could still remember the days when he wanted nothing more than to use Goku's skull as a bowl for sipping water, yet now, he found himself relying on the Saiyan for the third time to save him. Naturally, any desire for harming Goku – or anyone else for that matter –had long since left Piccolo's mind, but he couldn't help finding humor in the current situation. To think that at one time he had actually believed that he and Goku were equals! Watching the battle before his eyes, Piccolo could see just how truly absurd that notion had been. The fact of the matter was that Goku was his superior, and though admitting that brought a small amount of damage to the Namek's pride, he still felt honored to call Goku his friend.

Krillin watched with starry-eyed amazement. This had been the moment that he had been hoping and praying for since the second they realized Frieza was on Planet Namek. He just couldn't believe that it was finally happening. They were finally safe! Goku was there to save all of them and he'd make Frieza pay for hurting all of those defenseless people. Now, all that they had to do was wait for Goku to defeat Frieza and Cooler, and then they'd finally be able to go home!

Gohan couldn't believe how far his father had come. They had all struggled so much against Frieza and now his father was fighting like the monster was no issue. In fact, Piccolo had mentioned earlier that Frieza and his father were just playing around. That amazed Gohan to no end. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that two people had so much power.

He looked over to his left and noted Cooler's presence atop a mountain several miles from them, a being who was probably just as strong as Frieza. Gohan didn't want to cast any doubt upon his father's abilities, but there was only so much that one person could take. Frieza was obviously a force to be reckoned with, but could his father actually defeat the two brothers of destruction? Gohan certainly hoped so, but in this battle, hope didn't do much. He had to stay on alert! At any moment, Cooler could decide to jump into the battle, and Gohan refused to just stand by and let that happen.

While Gohan watched Cooler with heated intensity, he noted something coming up the mountain Cooler was standing on. His eyes grew to the size of saucers as he realized what, or rather who, the person was!

"What is Bulma doing over there?!" declared the young Saiyan as he drew his comrades' attentions.

* * *

Cooler's mind was still lost to the thoughts of his newly attained power and Frieza's eventual defeat when his sensitive hearing picked up on the presence of someone behind him.

Turning rather lazily to face whatever idiot was dumb enough to come within his personal zone, Cooler was slightly shocked to see a young, blue-haired woman standing there. Just by looking at the girl, Cooler quickly came to the conclusion that she was with the Earthlings that had given Frieza so much trouble. He rather quickly then came to the conclusion that the girl had to be some kind of idiot.

"You look lost," stated the Arcosian lord as he gazed intently upon the girl. "I'll offer a moment's leniency and give you the next three seconds to get off of this rock before I decide to personally escort you down." His gaze then was drawn to the ground and he took notice of small Namekian frog hanging desperately onto the girl's boot.

The creature looked as if it were trying to pull at the boot for whatever reason, but it soon looked up to see that Cooler's red eyes were boring down at it. Once the creature locked eyes with Cooler, it quickly fainted against the girl's boot.

Cooler cringed slightly at the view of the weird, disgusting creature. He then looked back up to the girl's face and said, "And take your disgusting little friend with you, too!"

The girl quickly looked down to see what Cooler was talking about and her face turned to one of annoyance as she began shaking her leg around in an attempt to get the frog free. "How did you follow me up here?!" she howled as she swung her leg all around. After a few attempts, she finally was able to shake the vermin free. With the frog swatted away, she then looked back to Cooler and bowed as she said, "Lord Cooler, I wasn't expecting to see you here, but I am glad that you have arrived. Things have grown quite hectic here on Planet Namek and we may need your assistance to remedy the situation. On the behalf of Lord Frieza, I, Captain Ginyu, ask that you would help us."

_This girl truly is insane_, thought Cooler as he openly stared at the girl. What was she talking about? She said that she was Captain Ginyu and that she was asking for Cooler to help Frieza? Was this some kind of a joke?

Well if it was, the girl would be in for quite the task. Cooler wasn't one to easily be fooled by anyone, and her claim of being Captian Ginyu had to have been the dumbest attempt at trickery that Cooler had ever witnessed. This wasn't Cooler's first time dealing with a trickster, so this girl would have to come up with something a lot more deceptive.

Cooler was ready to voice his disdain for the girl's idiotic attempt when a powerful explosion detonated from behind. His head quickly shifted back as he gazed upon the continued battle of Goku and Frieza. From the looks of it, Goku had attempted a truly powerful energy blast, only for it to be negated by Frieza. Finding nothing of interest happening with the fight behind him, Cooler was just about to turn back to the girl until he saw her spring forward.

She stopped at the edge of the mountain's plateau and squealed with unbridled happiness as she witnessed Frieza's domination of Goku. In fact, she was jumping up and down, rooting desperately for Cooler's younger brother. Cooler was truly at a loss of words.

The girl then happily turned back to Cooler and said, "Isn't he amazing? Lord Frieza is absolutely the most powerful fighter in the galaxy! That Saiyan monkey won't last much longer in battle against our lord!"

_Our_, thought Cooler with a massive amount of disgust! Frieza was certainly no lord of Cooler's and would never be! How dare she lump Cooler in with the spineless, weak mass of sheep that follow Frieza's every command!

"Let's get one thing straight!" sneered Cooler as he turned so that his body faced the girl. He placed one hand upon his hip in a condescending manner as he narrowed his eyes upon the weird girl. "Frieza is no lord of mine and after today, he won't be lord of anything or anyone else, I'll make sure of that."

The girl slowly turned her back to look upon Cooler, a shocked expression adorning her features. "W-what did…You can't mean what I think you mean!" she declared, her shock beginning to mesh into anger.

"You're three seconds have long since ended, girl! You should've left while you had the chance," stated Cooler, before his long, muscular tail swung around to strike at the girl.

The girl ducked under the massive extremity at the last moment, shock and fear appearing on her face. "In this body, one hit is all that it will take to finish me off," she muttered under her breath as she carefully watched the powerful tail.

Cooler's sensitive hearing managed to pick up on the girl's statement. With a coy smile, he replied, "In that body? Stupid girl! No creature can stand against my power!"

With an uproar of cynical laughter, Cooler began swinging his mighty tail at the girl from all directions. Swing after swing, his tail was narrowly dodged by the evasive girl. Cooler could tell by her maneuvering that she had at least some minor form of training, however, no amount of training would ever save her from Cooler.

Cooler continued swinging at all angles as he laughed away. It wasn't necessarily a matter of killing the girl. She was nothing more than a form of entertainment at that point. If she slipped up and allowed the tail to strike her, then that you be the end of Cooler's fun. And if she continued to hold out, that would only be more fun for Cooler.

Swat after mighty swat came upon the girl until her inevitable slip-up came. After dodging another swing of the Arcosian tyrant's tail, the girl lost her footing and fell to onto the blue grass of Namek. Helplessly, she stared up at Cooler, knowing full well that any hopes for survival had crashed just as she had.

"Done already?" stated Cooler with a mocking smile. "Too bad; maybe you should practice on your evasive skills in the afterlife." With that, Cooler threw his head back in a burst of laughter as he swung his powerful tail down upon the seated, helpless woman. However, instead of feeling the crack of her breaking bones, Cooler felt someone take a firm grasp of his appendage.

The tyrant's eyes angrily shifted back to the ground and caught the full view of the little Earthling daring to stand in the way of his only entertainment. The small, mop-headed boy glared up to Cooler with anger as his teeth barred out of the intense sensation of holding back Cooler's powerful tail.

"So you wanna be a little hero, huh boy?" sneered Cooler as he returned the glare to Gohan. "Well let's if you're really willing to die for your friend."

Cooler then began forcing more strength into his tail, pushing harder against Gohan's feeble defense. Gohan had to close his eyes out of the fierce amount of pressure that he was under. Cooler could see that the boy couldn't hold out much longer. As laughter began to glide from his mouth, Cooler could practically feel the death of the two Earthlings already. Unfortunately, Cooler didn't exactly get to feel death under his mighty tail.

Instead, he felt a searing, sharp pain shoot up through his appendage and radiate all through his body. In an act of pure instincts, Cooler swung a backhand down at Gohan, knocking the would-be hero and girl off of the mountain. Cooler then pulled his tail up to his mouth and began blowing desperately on the appendage to try and soothe the pain. He growled furiously as he noted the deep indention marks from Gohan's teeth.

_How dare that infantile cretin bite my tail?! I will make him pay!_

Cooler then spun to his side and caught the sight of Gohan floating a several feet from the mountain top. Hanging from the kid's ankles was the weakling girl. Cooler could feel the anger that was on Gohan's face. He even made note of the bruise he had left on the kid's face.

"You look as if you're ready for a fight, kid!" declared Cooler with a sneer of anger.

Gohan looked intently upon Cooler before he emitted a hushed growl and said, "You hit me!"

"Oh, I hit you, huh?" stated Cooler with feigned innocence. This quickly contorted into a furious growl of anger as he declared, "Well you bit my fucking TAIL! So, if you don't mind, I'll do more than hit you this time!" With that, Cooler placed a palm facing Gohan as an orange orb of energy began to form.

Gohan was left in a state of shock as the blast was ready to fire at point-blank range.

Just as the blast was ready to fire, out of completely nowhere, Goku appeared. Cooler barely caught a glimpse of the Saiyan hero before two firm boots were placed in his jaw. The mere power of the attack was enough to knock Cooler senseless before sending him flying for miles.

"Stay away from my son!" roared Goku as Cooler's body soared away.

In the distance, they could all see Cooler crash with an explosive amount of force in the Namekian sea.

Goku then turned to Gohan and said, "Are you alright?"

Gohan seemed stunned into silence for a moment until he finally replied, "Yes sir."

"Good," stated Goku with a warm smile. "You need to get Bulma back over there to safety. Cooler isn't going to be too happy with that attack and he's sure to be back on his feet at any moment."

"But, dad! We can help you!" bolstered Gohan bravely.

"Can you really?" came the familiar voice of a certain sinister villain from behind the father-son duo.

The both turned back to see Frieza floating calmly in the air. Goku instantly jumped into a protective stance before Gohan.

Bulma, on the other hand, perked up brightly once seeing Frieza. Smiling brilliantly, she began saying, "It's so great to see you again, Lor-..." Unfortunately, for Bulma, she was cut off as the frog from earlier jumped up on her face, completely covering her mouth. All that the blue-haired genius could do was shake her head back and forth and mumble words that could easily be assumed as angry gestures.

Ignoring the idiotic girl, Frieza smiled evilly to the Saiyan hero and said, "Don't mind me. I just want to make sure that I have a good view of the show."

"Show?" replied Goku with a questioning look.

Instead of answering, Frieza simply pointed to the horizon where Cooler had landed shortly ago.

* * *

Cooler floated calmly on top of the Namek's green water as he took in his surroundings. His jaw was throbbing horribly and this wasn't sitting well with the tyrant. He could now see very clearly why Frieza was having such a difficult time with these people. They were like pests! You try to deal with one and then another would appear out of nowhere.

As far as exterminating was concerned, Cooler liked to believe that he was quite the experienced force. In fact, he had a very effective technique in getting rid of pests such as the Earthlings. Simply put, start from the top and work your way down the ladder of importance. Right now, Goku was the glue that held those weaklings together; any idiot could see the importance that they all placed on the Saiyan. So, if Cooler truly wanted to take those disgusting insects down, he had to start with the biggest pest of all.

Gripping his hand into a tight, anger-fueled fist, Cooler exploded out of the water and hovered high in the sky as he glared daggers toward the others.

"I spy with my little eye, the biggest pest of all!" roared Cooler as he clasped his hands above his heads to charge his power. "Now you die, you pitiable Saiyan monkey!" With that declaration, Cooler shot both hands forward and emitted a powerful, orange wave of energy towards Goku and the others.

* * *

The Saiyan hero appeared shocked by the incoming wave of energy, but he quickly gathered his senses and prepared to get out of the way. However, just as he prepared to move, a yellow orb of energy entrapped his body in an immovable state. Goku barely managed to turn his head back to look upon Frieza, the only possible person that could've created the ball.

Frieza offered a sinister smile as he held Goku in the telekinetic ball of energy. "Uh-oh! It looks like the monkey is stuck. What will he ever do now?" stated Frieza before bursting with a fit of laughter.

"Dad!" shouted Gohan as he prepared an attempt to save Goku.

However, just as Gohan was ready to rush Frieza, Piccolo appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the mighty half-saiyan. The Namekian quickly ushered Gohan and the attached Bulma away to safety. All that Gohan could do was writhe in anger as Piccolo pulled him away.

After watching his son get pulled away, Goku turned to look upon the massive wave of energy heading his way. Seeing the wave inch closer and closer, Goku braced himself for what would be a sure explosion of massive proportions. If only Goku knew how true of a thought that was.

There was a brief moment of brilliant, blinding light before a horrible explosion of atoms could be heard across Namek's surface. Wind rushed in all directions at earth-breaking rates of speed as the explosion was set off, blowing any habitants far away from the deadly bubble of energy that rose high into the air. In fact, this bubble of unbelievably intense energy rose so high into Namek's atmosphere that it could be seen clearly from space. However, this was only the beginning to this ungodly reaction of energy. The energy bubble had risen to its brink and could no longer contain the fierce power within. Once the bubble finally ruptured, all inhabitants within a twenty mile radius was incinerated by the release of the powerful energy. Seas split, clouds ran, and the ground itself turned to dust as the maelstrom of radiant energy rushed across the surface of Namek, destroying any and all that dared to stand in its way.

* * *

**Sorry for this outrageously overdue update. I've been quite busy with other matters later, but I have settled every other matter and can now devote all attention back to my stories, especially this one. I'm not too proud of this update, especially considering how long you all had to wait for it, but I plan to update a lot more often on this story. It has gotten entirely too much attention to forsake. Therefore, I sincerely promise not to make you all wait near as long for my next update.**

**Until then,**

_~CosmicCannon_


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